temporary bliss ➟ muke ✓

sixteen; i can't

i can't keep sleeping in your bed if you keep messing with my head.

michael didn't get any sleep all day, but he laid in bed all day. he only got up to turn his fan on and then get a glass of water, but that was it. he was bundled up in three bedsheets and curled up in a ball, playing some game on his phone to distract himself from the fact that his life was shit.

when he checked twitter, he saw that luke had posted a photo of him and his brothers, meaning he had safely driven to his parents' house. the picture was cute with the caption, 'my best mates, i missed them lots.' michael numbly liked the tweet before going to ashton's twitter, checking his best friend's tweets as well.

ashton had tweeted earlier that day of a selfie with him, calum, and their dog named misty. the cute dog was sitting in ashton's lap and licking at calum's cheek as ashton and calum shared a kiss, one that was deep and obviously showed their love for each other. the caption was, 'my favourite dog and my favourite person. xx' of course michael liked the tweet, since it was ashton's tweet and he kind of had to as a supportive best friend.

michael felt lonely and alone, all at the same time. he didn't have anyone to post on twitter with, and that broke his heart. his three friends were busy and it felt like they didn't even want to see him in the first place.

everyone seemed better off without him.

then, michael went to check his mailbox. he wasn't expecting much, but one certain envelope from florida atlantic university made his eyes widen and his feet scurry back to his house so he could open the letter.

at first, michael felt excitement surging through his veins. he thought that he finally had his way out of his shitty life, but his smile faded when he noticed that the envelope wasn't as thick as it was meant to be. he confusedly tore it open and began to read the letter from the university he wanted to attend more than anything else in the world.

the paper fell from his hands at the same time a choked sob left michael's mouth.

he didn't get in.

---

meanwhile, luke was sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by the people he loved. ben and jack were on either side of him and his mum and dad sat at each end of the long table, all five of them included in the conversation with genuine smiles and hearty laughs. luke felt at ease around his family and all thoughts of michael completely vanished from his mind.

"oh, mum, what was the surprise that you wanted to tell me?" luke asked, suddenly remembering his phone call with his mum yesterday. liz glanced up to look at the clock hanging up on the wall before smiling widely, exchanging a glance with her husband.

"you'll find out any minute now. we're having guests over for dinner," liz announced, so luke shrugged before continuing his conversation with jack about jack's love life. at the mention of love, luke felt the urge to tell him about michael, but the loving look in jack's eyes about celeste made luke never want to interrupt him.

the doorbell rang, and liz asked luke to go get the door. the blond sighed before standing up and walking over to the door, checking his phone as he walked. he saw a notification saying that michael had liked his tweet about an hour ago, which made him smile slightly before pushing his phone back into his pocket and pulling open the front door.